You could call it a snow day in May. At least that was part of the discussion Monday night at the monthly meeting of the Ellsworth-Kanopolis-Geneseo School Board.

Board members voted to move the final day of the 2020-21 school year to May 26 for students — 24 hours earlier than the May 27 date on the district calendar.

The action came after Superintendent Dale Brungardt said the district has accumulated more hours than required by the state.

“It might be a shot in the arm to start summer a couple of hours early,” he said.

Also Monday, Brungardt briefly discussed a subject raised at an earlier board meeting — the movement of fourth graders from Ellsworth Elementary School to Kanopolis Middle School.

Brungardt suggested board members think about the move with the goal of making a decision in January or February.

“It allows us to continue to receive feedback from a variety of sources,” he said.

Specifically, it gives teachers, parents and others time to review the pros and cons of such a move, including items that might not have been considered since the idea was first raised, he added.

In other business:

• Students recognized by the board included Parker McGowan and Braeden Sheridan, who received a fourth place in yearbook theme development and graphics in state competition at Lawrence, and Jasmine Conley, who received a fifth in copy editing.

The awards were presented earlier this month by the Kansas Scholastic Press Association. To earn the chance to compete at state, students qualified through regional contests in February.

In the state contest, which was moved to an online format this year in response to the coronavirus pandemic, students from schools across the state competed in 23 different categories in three different classifications. They submitted hundreds of entries, in 12 different categories, to the online contest that featured design, photography and online categories. KSPA awarded more than 350 awards for entries into the contest.

• Head tennis coach Eric Anderson presented a plan that would follow other schools in the region and develop a junior high school tennis program. Board members will consider the proposal in June.